Ning Wang Song Cheng should be regarded as an outlier in the entire Song clan. He has been different since he was a child.
Most of the children of the Song family do not love the country but love the beauty... Oh, no, they love freedom. They don't want to be hampered by the throne and they don't want to be held back by the red tape and rules, so they don't want to be held back by the throne. I thought of all kinds of excuses and ways to stay away from Xijing and the palace.
But King Ning was particularly different. From the day he was enlightened, he showed his extraordinary intelligence and his completely different side from his brothers and clansmen. Those great Confucian scholars who were responsible for teaching knowledge to princes and clan children might be a little dissatisfied with other princes and clan children, but they were always full of praise for King Ning.
The only regret is that King Ning was born with a weak body and was not that good in martial arts. However, he was familiar with the art of war and was willing to talk to the generals who led the troops. He would even set up a sand table in his dormitory to review each battle. A battle. If he loses this battle, he will analyze why he lost, where he lost, and how he should handle this situation better next time. If we win this battle, we will also understand where we are stronger than the enemy, what our shortcomings are, and what needs to be improved.
Although this approach was basically the same as talking on paper, it also won King Ning a good reputation for being down-to-earth, willing to learn, and not ashamed to ask questions.
As soon as King Ning's sixteenth birthday passed, he left the palace and established a government office. The late emperor loved his younger brother very much and directly made him a prince and arranged for him to study in the Ministry of Rites.
At that time, the late emperor had only been on the throne for a few years. The situation in the country was relatively stable, there were no particularly major natural disasters, and the people were living and working in peace and contentment. However, the situation at the border is not very optimistic. They have been repeatedly invaded by foreign tribes, and the people at the border are in panic all day long.
Prince Ning originally wanted to go to the Ministry of War to do his part. Although he couldn't actually go to the border to fight like many brothers, he could still help make some plans. But unexpectedly, he was directly arranged by the emperor's brother to go to the most leisurely Ministry of Etiquette. It was absolutely impossible for him not to feel disappointed.
But Jun Wu joked that since the imperial edict had been issued, there was no possibility of changing it. No matter how unhappy Prince Ning was, he could only report it to the Ministry of Rites.
However, the time when he went to the Ministry of Etiquette to study was the time when the Queen Mother Qianqiu was the Queen Mother at that time, and everyone in the Ministry of Rites was busy with the Qianqiu Ceremony.
As the youngest son of the Empress Dowager, Prince Ning was happy to offer his filial piety to his mother, so his slight dissatisfaction with the late emperor's arrangements was completely eliminated as the ceremony was held.
As Shen Cha listened to Song Jue's story, her confusion deepened. She had only known Prince Ning by his name before, never met him in person, and had never heard his stories, because people around her, such as her father and mother, Uncle Xue and Auntie, her master, and Uncle Yan, had never mentioned it. The only thing she knew about this prince was that this glorious and virtuous king ended up guarding the imperial mausoleum.
"This prince's behavior has always been based on being a good king. Why does he want to be the emperor again?" While Song Jue drank water to moisten his throat, Shen Cha asked the biggest question in his heart, "Or are these all his disguises, and his goal from the beginning was the throne?"
"The human heart is not as good as a snake swallowing an elephant." Shen Haolin sneered, "Ambition is also cultivated step by step and slowly."
"The Duke is right. Maybe he really wanted to be a wise king at first, but as the power in his hands grows, his ambition will grow bigger and bigger." Bai Meng sighed, "My grandpa He once said that if he behaves himself, he will definitely leave his name in history. It's a pity..."
"In my impression, this young uncle is very kind to others and has a very good temper. Even if others oppose him and scold him in front of his face, he will not be angry. The smile on his face seems to be a natural gift. It will always be on his face and will never disappear." Song Jue put down the cup in his hand, "It is precisely because of this that people will unconsciously get close to him and not be wary of him."
"But no one could have imagined how much ambition he hid behind his smile."
"That's what happened. Many people were deceived by his appearance." Song Jue smiled bitterly, "I remember crying hard when he was arrested. Uncle Xiao Huang has always been very good to me. Father Every time the emperor and the empress wanted to beat me, he was the one who protected them."
"No, it's him who runs out to cover us every time." Bai Meng also sighed with emotion, "How wonderful it would be if we weren't obsessed with ghosts!"
"That's too far away!" Song Jue waved his hand and stopped mentioning the past events that made him sad. He continued the previous story, "The Imperial Grandmother's Qianqiu Ceremony was very successful. He completed his first mission beautifully. It’s bright. Especially when the Ministry of Accounts later reported on the table that it was the one that cost the least but had the best results.”
Shen Cha touched her stomach. She didn't know why, but suddenly she didn't feel hungry anymore. She pushed the porridge bowl in front of her to Shen Haolin, and turned to look at Song Jue, who didn't look very good.
"That is, there is no extravagance and waste, but the most perfect effect is achieved."
"That's right." Song Jue nodded gently, "With a good start, his subsequent errands became better and better, and his prestige in people's hearts became higher and higher. The ministers had great expectations for him. The people have high expectations for this wise king. Compared with other clan members, including me, he is really a perfect and excellent candidate for the crown prince. There are even ministers who are vaguely looking forward to it. The day he inherited the throne of his father. Although I was still young at the time, I had seen the bustling scene of Prince Ning’s palace. There were many people who wanted to join his family, and many ministers in the court strongly supported him becoming the emperor. My brother, they even wrote a letter to my father, requesting that Prince Ning be made the crown prince."
"I also remember this. The late emperor also specifically sought out the nobles and clan members to ask for their opinions, but..." Bai Meng shook his head gently, "They all expressed their disapproval. It's not like the late emperor had no heirs, so why did he establish himself? What about making his younger brother the crown prince? The most important point is that the Empress Dowager did not agree, and even before her death, she forced the late emperor to promise that she would not make Prince Ning the crown prince."
"The wish of the Imperial Grandmother is that the little Emperor's uncle will become a wise king and leave a name in history, instead of stepping on his nephew to ascend the throne and be criticized by future generations." Song Jue sighed, "The Imperial Grandmother is a person who understands. , but the little emperor uncle didn’t listen to him.”
"Did the late emperor be wary of Prince Ning from the beginning?" Shen Cha glanced at Song Jinyu, Song Qiyun and Ying Shisan who came over and sat down silently to listen to the story. Shen Cha continued to ask, "Has he never trusted Prince Ning?"
"Of course not. My father still believed in the little uncle at first. According to my father, he really started to guard against him when he was twenty years old." Taking the beef tongue cake handed to him by Song Qiyun, Song Jue He took a bite and said, "At that time, the little emperor was in charge of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household Affairs, and occasionally he would do some errands for the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry."
"Hubu?" Shen Cha frowned, "Control Daxia's treasury? If he wants to do something, wouldn't he be able to do it easily?"
"It's because of this that something went wrong. All the good things he did behind his father's back were revealed one by one." Song Jue glanced at the beef tongue cake in his hand with disgust and threw it on the plate. , "I don't know what the specific situation is. I just know that the little emperor's uncle regarded the national treasury as the palace's private treasury. This alone is enough to make my father Lei Lei furious."
"Not long after the case of Prince Ning's corruption broke out, someone immediately accused him of raising private soldiers. In fact, it is normal for the prince's palace to have private soldiers, but the number and regulations of Prince Ning's soldiers have exceeded too much, and even The weapons used by these imperial soldiers are much better than those of the imperial army and patrol camps. At that time, some people questioned what King Ning planned to do with so many elite soldiers." Bai Meng lowered his head and looked at the tea cup in his hand. , "The late emperor ordered Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment to investigate the case of Prince Ning, and the result was that the Ministry of Works remade weapons for Prince Ning's palace. It seems that there is something related to the Ministry of War, but I don't know exactly what happened. Yes, I heard these things from the late emperor and grandpa."
"After the Dongchuang incident happened, Prince Ning was demoted to a commoner and was punished to guard the imperial mausoleum?"
"No!" Song Jue shook his head gently, "Father still cares about and feels sorry for this brother who is more than twenty years younger than him. Even if he made a big mistake, he has made a lot of great contributions before. In addition, The relationship between their brothers is indeed very good, so it was just that the prince was demoted to the county prince and imprisoned in Prince Ning's Mansion. But..."
"He did not care about brotherhood and did not repent, and actually sent dead soldiers to assassinate the late emperor."
